1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates among other things to structures for a door portion and its vicinity of a display case such as a structure for locking a door of the display case, structures for suppressing the bedewing on the door portion, structures for treating dew drops dropped from the door and the water collected from the dropped dew drops and structures for attaching a packing support plate on the door portion.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The conventional display case, for example, a display case for displaying refrigerated or frozen foods, has various problems with door structure and adjacent portion.
Firstly, the conventional display case has a structure for locking a door of the display case, for example, as shown in FIG. 12. In FIG. 12, a display case 101 has a goods removal opening 102 and a door 103 to open and close the opening. A locking piece 104 having a through hole 104a is attached to the lower surface of a frame 105 of door 103 via a screw 106. Another locking piece 107 having a through hole 107a is attached to an appropriate fixed portion of display case 101 below locking piece 104. Door 103 when closed is locked by inserting an arm 108a of a lock 108, such as a padlock. In such a structure for locking door 103, however, since both locking pieces 104 and 107 project out from display case 101, the customer's clothes often catch on the locking pieces or the tips of the locking pieces jab the customer.
There is another problem with the conventional structure shown in FIG. 12. Door frame 105 is usually constructed from a ferrous material. Since ferrous material has a high thermal conductivity, door frame 105 is cooled as is the inside of display case 101 when the display case is built in a refrigerator-freezer display case unit. As a result, abt dew forms on the front surface of door frame 105. Moreover, since a handle 109 usually attached to door frame 105 is also cooled by the door frame having a high thermal conductivity, it is uncomfortable for the customer to touch the handle to open or shut door 103.
There is another problem that the dew drops forming on door 103 drop down from the lower surface of the door onto and collect on the floor. To remedy this problem, a catch tray has been provided below the display case door as is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication SHO 62-143175. However, particularly when the distance between the lower surface of the door and the tray is great, the dew drops dropping onto the tray are likely to splash in front of the display case. Further, it is desirable for the conventional tray to quickly and efficiently direct the dew drop water on the tray into a machine room which is usually provided below the display case, especially when a large amount of the water collects, as when it is humid.
Furthermore, there is a problem with the structure which attaches the packing support plate on the door portion. The packing support plate supports a packing provided for sealing the inside of a showcase at a portion of a door, and the packing support plate is usually screwed to a display case frame defining a goods removal opening of the display case. In such a conventional attachment structure of the packing support plate, however, since a tool such as a screwdriver is required for attaching the plate, much time is needed to attach or exchange the plate.